Ayda Celine first began to realize there was a problem at her father’s care home in Sydney several months ago when he began complaining of pain and she found dark bruises on his body. Over time, his condition continued to deteriorate and his behavior changed; he was nervous about being touched, didn’t want to undress, and didn’t want to leave his room for mealtimes.

Celine called the home to complain about his care, but when nothing was done to assuage her fears, she set up a hidden camera to find out what was happening to her father in her absence. And what she saw on the video footage is enough to make anyone sick.

In the video, a man believed to be 35-year-old care worker Prakash Paudyal, physically assaults Celine’s 82-year-old father, David Nabulsi. Paudyal pushes and pulls at Nabulsi, yanking on his clothes and his limbs, even causing him to fall down at one point in an apparent attempt to get him to lie down and to change his shirt. He points threateningly at Nabulsi and even beats him over the head with a shoe.

Nabulsi tries to defend himself by putting his hands up and grabbing at Paudyal, but to no avail. The younger man is too strong and too quick. It’s an unfair fight in a situation where no fight should be occurring at all.

After viewing the hidden camera footage, Nabulsi’s family made the decision to take Paudyal to court. He appeared at Manly Local Court and has been charged with two counts of common assault and use of an offensive weapon with intent to commit an indictable offense.

Paudyal was fired from the Seaforth facility for his actions and has had his passport taken away. He is not allowed to go near his former workplace as a condition of his bail.

Elderly people do not deserve to suffer at the hands of abusive care workers. If someone you know is at risk for this kind of treatment or is dealing with an abusive caregiver, be sure to speak up. Let’s protect our seniors!

Elizabeth Nelson is a wordsmith, an alumna of Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, a four-leaf-clover finder, and a grammar connoisseur. She has lived in west Michigan since age four but loves to travel to new (and old) places. In her free time, she. . . wait, what’s free time?